Made2Game's 2011 Video Game Awards: RPGs

Welcome to the Made2Game 2011 Video Game Awards! Well, the RPG ones at least. We'll have many more genre categories as well as an overall awards session over the next week too.

Role Playing Games! Loot. Dragons. Swords. Magic. Bows. Damsels. Dinosaurs. Ok, no dinosaurs this year, but plenty of the rest. 2011 was a stonker of a year for the classic role-player,  from new entries in modern series' in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and Dragon Age 2, the ressurection of old concepts such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the return of one legendary series with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and forward thinking upstarts such as Dark Souls. Along with all those usual loot-filled affairs, it meant that narrowing down these awards was a tough slice of work.

But here they are. And before you start, JRPG's are not considered for this award catagory so no Xenoblade here.

Have a read and don't forget to tell us your opinions in the comments below!

Best Soundtrack
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz
Most fantasy soundtracks make the common mistake of fitting a mould. As Orcs should look like ugly green mugs and dwarves should live to glug a mug of finest ale whilst grooming absurdly massive beards, most fantasy music is typical to a fault. Epic vocals, big chords, thundering drums. It can all be so... Expected.

Not so with The Witcher 2. Sure it's got some big strings - big strings are cool - but then there's that pained, lonely, almost strained vocal that accompanies them and features in many of The Witcher 2's other tracks. What about the haunting, otherworldly pipes that float perfectly alongside a bubbling brook as the sun gleams through the trees? Heck, even shoving a mute on a couple of the violins changes the tone of a track entirely. It's gorgeous and, much like Geralt himself, somewhat pained and almost self pitying. Beauty wrapped up in unsure sorrow.

Until you're in combat that is, and then it's all bitter panpipes, massive driving percussion, horrible didgeridoo moans, string instruments being played where they shouldn't be played and carefully mixed electric guitars combining to create an empoweringly forceful cacophony that drives combat and pumps that adrenaline in a completely unique way.

The Witcher 2's music builds itself on a folk-like twang that is beautifully augmented and personalised through some brilliantly outlandish instrumentation. The music sounds gorgeous, it helps the world stand out and gels perfectly with the game's spectrum of emotions and situations. Sublime.

Highly commended
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Michael McCann
Deus Ex's synth-powered soundtrack owed more than a little to Japanese cyberpunk audio such as the almighty Ghost in the Shell, and obviously the likes of Blade Runner, but it was excellent and rather unique within the realms of video games regardless.

Dark Souls - Motoi Sakuraba
The true power of the Dark Souls soundtrack was its ability to create unease through the sudden and unexpected. When a boss was accompanied by simple, tear-summoning melancholy it made you question the game and your actions. Some truly outstanding audible moments that help elevate the game to its rightful masterpiece status.

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Best Beard:
Nords (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)
Ok, more accuractely - my Nord. Beards equal power in an RPG, that's a fact, so my northern warrior was rocking the largest turf of chin topiary known to Tamriel. It came down from the ears, and hung like a slab of meat from his face. I imagine it bristled whenever I shouted anyone off a cliff. Beard!

Highly commended
Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)
Jensen spent a lot of time in surgery after his little 'accident' and his doctor must have had an eye, or perhaps a passion, for careful facial fluff decoration. Adam's moustache and goatee combo is a carefully constructed piece completely in tune with his abnormally pointy chin.

Hawke (Dragon Age II)
If Bioware got one thing right then it's Hawke's default chin strap. An outline improving beard, it's similar to Jensen in design but Hawke's is more regimented next to Jensen's accurate point. Fitting, really, as Hawke is more of an aggressive sword for hire against Jensen's super-spy like ways. 

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Technical Excellence
Dark Souls
It would be so easy to just give this one to Skyrim, but the simple fact is that as staggering as Skyrim’s gameworld is on an aesthetic level, technically it’s a buggy, glitchy, broken mess. Between classic Bethesda bugs like quicksand mountains, floating corpses and horrendous texture pop-in, there’s also the complaint that a certain patch rendered the PS3 version almost entirely unplayable.

By contrast, Dark Souls' huge, open gameworld is a seamless, beautiful playground of death of despair, intricately mapped and designed with absolute care, love and attention to detail. It never falls down, regardless of the size of the bosses thrown at you and rarely struggles to generate its incredible atmosphere. As a technical achievement, Dark Souls simply shines.

Highly Commended
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
As we said, buggy, glitchy and broken - especially on PS3 – but when it's working Skyrim is a thing of majesty. How they fit all this on one tiny Xbox 360 disc is beyond the comprehension of the mere mortal mind. I call Cthulu tricks.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
It's a stealth game. No it's an action game. No it's a safety dance simulator. The amount of stuff there is to do in Deus Ex, well it's a miracle the thing doesn't break at a touch. Indeed it's more remarkable to think that each of its gameplay elements manage to stand alone and work both independently and together. Bravo, Eidos Montreal.

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Best Visuals:
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Ok, so being a PC exclusive kind of gave Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings an unfair advantage in this area but come on - COME ON - it's a bloody gorgeous game.

Environments are glorious, from the way light rays poke through a treeline, to pubs that are choked by a low hanging musky smoke, to the overgrown shrubbery that lends forests a tangible hostility in complete juxtaposition to the carved out paths of Flotsam and the multi-tiered, claustrophobic Dwarven town of the second act.

Then there are the character models. Pocked and scarred, the characters that inhabit the world of the Witcher are bruised and believable, these are characters that have lived, not pristine mannaquins inhabiting some 'perfect' fantasy world.

Then there are the monsters; all twisted, deformed and even uglier than The Witcher 2's people. They look ugly, run ugly, fight ugly and die ugly. Yet at the same time they are unmistakenly beautiful and painstakingly designed.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings doesn't just impress through incredible particle effects, lighting, and pure polygonal power. It's simply a gorgeous game to behold artistically, and that's why it's such a visual triumph.

 

Highly commended
Dark Souls
The way Dark Souls hugely labyrinth interconnects is a wonder of world design, and a real eureka moment. It also contains some outstanding enemy and boss design, as well as one of the best location reveals ever. You'll know it when you see it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
A huge world that is frequently gorgeous, often astounding and occasionally breathtaking. Enemy design isn't as 'out there' as some others but it's all remarkably pretty. And huge.

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Most Believable World
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
As stated above, Skyrim’s gameworld is simply the most incredibly well-detailed arena we’ve ever set foot in as gamers. Rolling hills, towering mountains, drifting glaciers and that amazing aurora borealis combine to make for a world that draws you in and makes you feel a part of it.

It's all in the details. Walking up a path and seeing a rabbit scurry away from you as birds flutter from the swaying trees and butterflies flitter in the undergrowth. A favourite detail is a signpost that has been weathered by the years but has clearly had a new arrow added recently pointing to a recently erected military outpost. An eye for detail that is simply lost on lesser designers.

Creeping through Skyrim’s trees with your bow drawn, hunting deer, or battling a Frost Dragon on the edge of an icy cliff, buffeted by a howling blizzard, or bucking your horse just for the hell of it while the northern lights twinkle behind you… moments like these simply weren’t bettered this year.

Highly commended
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex's streets are full of all sorts of people but it's the distinction between Augs and humans that brings the world alive, as the seperation, segregation and technological racism bubbles under a delicately put together world of streets, back alleys, clubs, police stations, medical facilities and hotels.

The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings
While the game's final third is a little undercooked, its opening locations are some of the most coherent locations in all of gaming. Fishermen fish, butchers cut meat, and the village of Flotsam celebrates your successes in style. The world really reacts around you.

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Fashionista
Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)
Like the love child of Neo and Bono (wow that's a creepy image, sorry), Adam Jensen is the very embodiment of 'cool'. The leather coat is one thing, swishing around his ankles and letting people know that he has a high paid job/is a Marilyn Manson fan. Then there are the automatic shades that he can summon in an instant when he needs some added awesome.

The true brilliance in the design however are the shoulders, which come complete with rennaisance inspired filigree that fits in with the rest of the game's bourgeoisie punk that seperated the higher classes from the lower stret scum. You knew Adam was a man with some power.

 

Highly commended
Hawke (Dragon Age II)
Hawke's default angular design is actually a piece of intimidating brilliance, all points, angular, rough and ready brutish, almost barbarian style. Shame about the game.

Black Knight (Dark Souls)
Adorning the front cover of the game, the Black Knight is an intimidating beast. Just look at the horns on that armour! This is a guy that doesn't just want to beat you up, he's sculpted his armour to scare the willy off you, then beat you up. Terrifying design, but gothically beautiful...

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Best Dragon:
Gaping Maw Dragon (Dark Souls)
Another obvious shoe-in for Skyrim scuppered by Namco Bandai’s suffer-fest. Skyrim had an abundance of dragons, obviously, but aside a few minor details they all looked more or less the same and after the first few fell to your sword/bow/ fireball, it was hard to escape the fact that they just weren’t big enough or fierce enough.

Dark Souls suffered no such problems. From the big red bastard on the bridge in Undead Burg to Seath the Scaleless, Dark Souls had some crackers, but none more so than the Gaping Dragon, a huge, screen-filling monstrosity whose stomach was one great big maw and who puked rivers of acid at every opportunity. Huge, challenging and genuinely scary, old Gapey wins this one for Dark Souls hands down.

Highly commended
Alduin The World Eater (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)
Just look at him! He's a bloody massive spoiler-spoiler dragon! How amazing is that? And when you finally fight him in spoiler, that is just awesome. Just a shame he's a bit of a pushover and not really aggressive enough with the whole dragon resurrection thing.

Saesenthessis (The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings)
You meet this sod in chapter 1, in which it tries to melt your face, but the eventual showdown is one of spectacle and endurance. It loses out on the award mainly for being a shamefully, typically 'gamey' encounter.

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Best Combat
Winner: Dark Souls
A bit of a no-brainer, this one. Precise and balanced almost to the point of perfection, Dark Souls is an absolute corker when it comes to combat. With such a huge variety of weapons (and thus, fighting styles), From Software refined the melee element showcased in Demon’s Souls and sculpted it into the most deliciously-punishing yet incredibly-rewarding combat system we’ve seen.

Yes, Dark Souls wants you to die and, yes, it wants you to suffer – but it doesn’t want you to quit. It simply asks that you stop whining like a milkmaid and get good. Well-timed blocks, dodges, counters and backstabs will see you through no matter which enemy you face – it’s always a case of keeping your wits about you and you shield up. Suffer, hurt, fall, rise, endure, succeed is a simple doctrine by which Dark Souls’ combat lives – and thrives.

Highly commended
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Witcher 1's combat was pants, built on a penicillin-encrusted Neverwinter Nights engine, but Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings combat was brilliant. Fast and fluid, it's just a shame that shield spell was a bit all-powerful...

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Well arguably it's not 'combat' unless you want it to be. Deus Ex is better when you adopt a stealthy approach anyway. But if combat is simply a way of 'beating' enemies then Deus Ex makes it satisfying and fun, even if stealth + battery regen makes it a touch easy. The best thing about Deus Ex's 'combat' is discussing how you beat sections with friends. How did you escape Tai Yong Medical?

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Best Loot
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Does loot really make an RPG? Of course it doesn’t, but for some reason that ever-present promise of better gear is what keeps many RPGers powering through even the most mind-numbingly dull titles.

The isometric dungeon crawler (a la Diablo or Dungeon Siege III) is usually the best source of loot-gathering gamer-crack, but this year some of the best scavenged crap was to be found in Snowblind Studios’ underwhelming license-plunderer, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

The weapon and armour models were so well-detailed and unmistakably Tolkien-esque that every piece dropped, found and equipped evoked the incredible source material just that little bit more. For fans of fantasy, Action RPGs and – most importantly – looting, War in the North is simply the best option this year.

 

Highly commended
Torchlight (Xbox 360)
Torchlight's loot was hot, and the ability to share it with future characters ingenious, but the criminal lack of multiplayer meant there was no way to effectively show off. Unacceptable!

Dungeon Siege III
As with Torchlight, Dungeon Siege's looting game is good enough but a shockingly shortsighted online mode damages the ego boost from show-offery that makes loot gathering so much fun.

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Biggest Disappointment:
Dead Island
Some would argue that Dead Island wasn’t marketed as an RPG, but frankly that’s exactly what it is: A huge open world, tonnes of loot, level progression, character skill trees, side quests and craftable weapons. Unfortunately, it’s also an incredibly shoddily made RPG, with some of the worst voice acting and character animation of the last ten years

Admittedly quite fun when taken at face value, and definitely worth a few hours when the hit-and-miss multiplayer element works, Dead Island nevertheless failed to live up to the promises made by that CG trailer. We expected a balls-to-the-grindstone survival horror full of human emotion and effecting tragedy. We got a bunch of Thunderbirds puppets smacking bikini-clad zombies in the face with flame-wreathed chainsaws and electrified paddle oars. Disappointed? You betcha.

Highly not commended
Dragon Age II
The only reason this didn't win the award was so we didn't have to remember it too much. The city was rubbish. In fact it was dire. A lonely, desolate hovel. There was only one bloody city in the entire game. Why was it so unforgivably under-developed? It was a shell awaiting further development before the big EA man snuck the game out the door. Then there was the environment re-use. At least Dead Island was entertaining with mates. Bleh. Stupid Dragon Age 2. Now I need a choccy biccie to calm myself down.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
As we said in our review, this was one of the biggest wastes of a license ever. Slapping Tolkein's name on something immediately conjures up expectations of excellence – well, maybe not excellence in game form, but Return of the King was actually pretty decent. Expectations of 'pretty-good-ness' then – which War in the North did not meet.

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Ultimate RPG of the Year
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Despite losing out on a handful of these awards, Bethesda’s dragon-slaying, beard-wearing, axe-swinging, magic-shouting epic is, quite frankly, the RPG of the decade. A huge, immersive world that manages to shine unremittingly despite a gamut of bugs and glitches, Skyrim’s landscape is replete with hidden caves, forbidden dungeons, ancient redoubts, challenging enemies, mysterious magics and the kind of world-building, over-arching lore that can only come this far into a fantasy series.

A staggering, even breath-taking world with draw-distances that must be seen to be believed and an attention to detail second-to-none, all built around a free-form quest system where you can happily spend twenty hours learning to make armour and mix potions before you even set foot along your character’s path to destiny. Not to mention the dragons, or the storyline, or the Radiant AI, or the interweaving quest-lines – the nature of which allow each and every person who plays the game to craft his or her unique legend.

As an example of how to create a living world and fill it from disintegrating coastline to impassable mountain range with compelling, exciting and, above all, flexible content, Skyrim is an absolute masterclass.

Highly commended
Dark Souls
FROM Software's taxing action RPG made us work for our victories but rewarded us with not only incredible satisfaction, but also a labyrinthine world full of secrets, stunning art design, and unforgettable moments. Progressive online features are the icing on this bloody and foreboding cake that is sure to leave a lasting impression on all who try and take a bite.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Released exclusively on PC - the Xbox version is currently chalked in for next April - CD Projekt RED's second outing for lady pleaser Geralt was one full of beauty, both audible and visually, and presented arguably the most complex narrative of the year. One choice early on drastically changed how the rest of the game played out, it's incredibly brave and pulled off with aplomb. As far as linear narratives go it is on a par with Deus Ex, and it's been updated significantly since release for free as well, making it an essential 2011 RPG.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Those damn bosses. Those stupid, stupid bosses. This game was so good 95% of the time. Sneaking around as Adam Jensen, talking your way past people with a conversation system better than L.A. Noire's, creeping through vents and hacking security in an engine superior to most stealth games. Then there's the narrative full of self rigeous politicians and scientists and creepy muscle suit soviet hitmen. Deus Ex absorbed you in its grimy future noire streets and refused to let go. Until a boss fight came along. Such an annoying fly in an otherwise outstanding soup.

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And that's that. The Made2Game RPG Game of the Year awards 2011 are over.

Don't agree? Well tough, we're the experts here. If, however, you have a strong opinion that must be voiced don't hesitate to throw it into the comments below!

Words by James Bowden (Twitter: @Dalagonash) and Mick Fraser (@Jedi_Beats_Tank)

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